MO' ART WITH MOZART

January 27 . . .

He was the ultimate child prodigy, the son of a stern taskmaster father who played the violin and a doting mother. As a toddler, he mastered the piano by two and composed his first minuet by four; by 1780, he had been decorated by the Pope, played for the King of England, and had proposed marriage to Marie Antionette (who turned him down because he was only eight at the time). He was born this day in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, and was christened Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangug Theophilus. But we know him better as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arguably the greatest and most prodigious composer who ever lived.

Mozart was popular in his life, but he had his detractors – most significantly the envious Antonio Salieri, his rival composer at court. Salieri had talent, discipline and devotion; Mozart had genius and the ability to toss off masterpieces seemingly without effort. Salieri envied Mozart, perhaps even loathed him. But did he hate him enough to commit murder?

That’s the premise for director Milos Forman’s excellent movie based on Peter Schaffer’s successful play, 'Amadeus' (1984), which swept the Oscars that year, winning Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Part biopic, part musical, part mystery, Amadeus celebrates Mozart’s life, music and times – bringing it all magnificently to life. Tom Hulce is a totally fresh and unexpected Mozart – called ‘Wolfy’ by his wife – giddy, fun-loving, bawdy and with a laugh like a hyena on helium. His rival Salieri is played with petulant indignation by F. Murray Abraham, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his tortured portrait of a man who devotes his life and art to God and can’t understand why his Master bestows His gifts on a hedonistic oaf like Mozart.

The film does take liberties; the whole Salieri murder conspiracy, while a very effective hook, is fiction. In all probability, Mozart died of typhoid fever, not poison, at thirty-five. Stillo, Amadeus is an enthralling rumination on genius – both on those to whom it is seemingly randomly bestowed and on those who suffer and sacrifice and never attain it. A vibrant, invigorating, lushly executed modern masterpiece.

Click here for a taste:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du-rD2QL1Pc